Friday, November 6, 2009

The cellar on the hill

Usually Czech pubs sell only beers from one brewery or brewery group. For instance it is usual to find beers like Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Kozel in a taproom, as these belong to the same brewery owners.

These days this is changing, and more and more bars and restaurants are offering a more varied beer menu. One such place is U Bejvalejch Vyndanejch. The bar can be found in Zizkov on the hill over Seifertova street - not far from taprooms like Kralovstvi or U Sadu. This is a little cellar pub that specializes in beers from Svijany.

When I visited last month, they had Svijany Maz, Svijany Knize and Svijany Knezna from tap. Knize is a 13° golden lager, while Knezna is a 13° dark lager. Maz is a weaker beer, as it is a 11° pale lager. They also sell Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus.

Svijany Knize is served in this bar with a medium sized head and some fizzyness. In the nose the hops make a distinct presence, and they are also there in the mouth. Knize is a bitter beer, and I would have preferred it more balanced. There is also an alcohol punch in the aftertaste. In all, it is a nice beer, but it is not as good as other Svijany beers. I prefer Svijany Rytir, Svijany's kvasnicove and Svijany Maz to this beer.

U Bejvalejch Vyndanejch has not been very well visited when I have been there. The beers have been fine, and I also have eaten a portion of utopence there. I like the pickled sausages, and they were very good. But all was not good. There was more or less no atmosphere in U Bejvalejch Vyndanejch on my visits. Few guests make a boring taproom, and I felt that this was not a place to stay. But perhaps I was there at the wrong time?